The lens is shipping next week in Canada, so I would expect it at US retailers as well.

Another reader who has played around with the lens says the following (Thanks Bruce):

Compared witht the 70-200/2.8, it is a featherweight.Zooming was smooth and the focus was quick and accurate at all focal lengths. The image quality was good over the full frame and IS worked superbly.

On the down side, it drops away from f/4 quite quickly (if I recall correctly around 100mm) which will influence itâ€™s autofunction capabilities on less expensive cameras (Bruce tested with a 1D3 and could be talking about teleconverters).

So â€“ itâ€™s probably a terrific lens for someone with a high end camera who is getting on a plane. The limited focal ratio will probably constrain it more than most realise.

canon rumors FORUM

tyrepeddler

Mine arrived yesterday have taken a few shots with it seems to be better then my 70-200 F4 wil take more over the long weekend and post pics. It came from Canoga Camera in Ca.they show a few leftHave a great Holiday

On the down side, it drops away from f/4 quite quickly (if I recall correctly around 100mm) which will influence itâ€™s autofunction capabilities on less expensive cameras (Bruce tested with a 1D3 and could be talking about teleconverters).

So a) why are there no pics here yet, noone has this lens? (i suppose i'll have to post some after i buy it this weekend or the next)

and b) with regards to that quote, what's he comparing it to? By my nerdly-spreadsheeting & graph i made when i was bored yesterday, the L stays at f4 longer than any other comparable vari-F canon zoom lens. and only the 100-400 beats it by staying longer at f5 before it hits f5.6.(data comes from here)

So i finally got to buying one on saturday, and i've spent 2 days since running around and have probably taken nearly 500 shots with it already.i walked through a forest chasing an eagle for hours, and just when i was giving up and walking home, this guy came and sat on a pole about 2m away from me.

300mm, f5.6, ISO160, 1/500s, 7D. Gotta say, i'm impressed with the Bokeh. the bird was maybe 2-3m away, the street sign and hedge were another 5-6m on the other side of the street.

Bonus points if anyone can tell me wtf it is? i see them around occasionally (in The Netherlands) the crew-cut and colours keep making me think kingfisher, but the body shape is a lot more crow/raven/magpie (but it's not black/white). I know they're probably fairly common in europe, but i only know australian birds.

woo, thanks for the bird tip. suppose one day i'll be back to get more shots of them, look out for more shots from me of aussie birds in a week or two...

anyway, another shot from that day, to show the bokeh. Taken in a forest with some hoverflies near a leaf in sunlight, the background was all darkness with a bit of sunlight poking through the leaves behind. (the good focussing on the fly was just luck, all the rest of the shots were oof or moving or both)7D, ISO250, 1/320s, 300mm, f5.6 (wide open). camera jpeg, no processing, just shrunk to 1200*800, and a 100% crop...

and for the hell of it, a 100% crop of the next shot, from the far top left corner of the (APS-C) frame. not going to win any awards for composition, but just to give you an idea of how the bokeh goes ever so slightly non-circular near the corner, still, i like it...